I will be crowned king

With Baron Aix's "official promise", Anson can justifiably put the governor's delegation under house arrest at the military camp headquarters and negotiate with the Roland family alone, without having to worry about members of both sides colluding in private to expose his own sinister... good intentions .

To be honest, he didn't expect the situation to go so smoothly at first; after all, the other party was also an important minister of the Privy Council of Clovis, and he traveled all the way to the colony to restrain him, thinking that there must be something high-level to say.

When making the plan, Anson repeatedly rehearsed countless possibilities and guessed all the possible reactions of the other party; but even though he had ensured that he had sufficient escape routes, he was still afraid of being exposed by the other party more than once and noticed even the slightest abnormality.

Looking at it now, it's all over-worrying. I'm afraid he's not ready to thank himself now.

As for William Cecil, who was regarded by Baron Akers as the "last insurance", he was on his side from the beginning. In other words, the entire Cecil family has been tied to this chariot, and even It is part of the chariot itself.

Franz of Clovis City, Cecil of North Port, and Rune of Ice Dragon Fjord. The power and interests of the New World must be based on these three families to maintain normal operations.

The natural next step is to use the intimidation of the governor's mission to force the Roland family to make more concessions, and at the same time help Reinhard clear certain obstacles so that he can successfully ascend to power - this is also part of the exchange of interests between the two.

Anson ensured that he could become the first president of the bank. He helped the bank secure the investment of the Roland family and distributed part of the proceeds to the Roland family without affecting the overall policy, but control must be between the Stormtroopers and the Rune family. in hand.

Of course, the reverse can also be understood as Anson using Reinhard to defraud the Roland family's business reputation and investment, while Reinhard used the power of Stormtroopers and Clovis to put pressure on the family and gain greater freedom... Both parties have Take what you need.

As for the situation with the Roland family, he was not worried at all.

It's not that I have much confidence in Ian Clemens' "friendship", it's just that Reinhard has betrayed this person completely; even if the bait looks particularly fake, there's no need to worry about him not taking the bait.

What is really worth noting is the attitude of the mainland towards the colonies; how determined the royal family and the Privy Council are to keep the colonies will determine how much pressure they will endure in the coming year.

Out of caution, Anson activated his "superpower" in advance before entering Baron Akers's guest room, and revealed the notebook hidden under the table mat.

If it were in the past, he would never have dared to perform such a high-risk operation, especially when it was confirmed that the members and guards of the mission were likely to be gifted. The nature was equivalent to exposing oneself on the spot and handing in person the irrefutable proof that he was a spell caster. into the opponent's hands.

But after studying the "Great Magic Book" in detail, especially the chapters on black magic, he has found a more reliable and safer way to avoid being surrounded by spellcasters, especially talented ones, at the moment of casting. aware.

The usual approach is "secret"...because magic is as natural to the caster as breathing, and the stronger the air movement and sound caused by breathing, the higher the probability of exposure; so conversely, just hold Breathe and there is no risk of detection.

But the black mages found another way. They did not give up breathing, but found the trick to eliminate the breathing reaction-"spreading out" the impact of spell casting and reducing their own "concentration" can greatly reduce the probability of being detected. .

As long as you don't use magic that is too powerful or too conspicuous, people around you will only be vaguely aware of the traces of magic, but they won't be able to tell who it is or where it is - this is also Alexei The main reason for being "played" by the black mage at the ceremony.

On top of that, if magic is imprinted on an item in advance and the "victim" accidentally activates it, it can further confuse the people around him and reduce the possibility of being exposed.

Anson seriously suspected that his dear mentor Mace Honard relied on this caution and the protection of the Rune family to be able to move around under the noses of the Church and the Inquisition without leaving a trace for several years. Only then did the flaw appear.

Considering that few of the spells he mastered could be considered "low-key", Anson only took the opportunity to peek at Baron Akers's notes and did not dare to do anything more.

Judging from the content, Baron Akers is basically a tool thrown out by the royal family - although he boasts in his notes that he is "handpicked by the royal family", in fact, those with higher status than him do not want to come, and those with lower status cannot convince the public. It is difficult to justifiably take away control of the bank from your own hands.

The royal family and the Privy Council seemed to have some misunderstandings in their own judgment. They believed that the Storm Division was only an auxiliary factor in the success of the imperial colonial rebellion. They hoped to strengthen their relationship with the Free Confederacy by strengthening their control over the colonies.

Setting up an honorary governor is the first step, and the Coal Mine Bank is the second step. The next step is to completely integrate the two colonies of Beluga Harbor and Gray Snow Town, and gradually replace the local autonomous assembly with local officials.

This is good news for the Storm Division - in the long run, this will reduce the degree of autonomy of the colony, but the process is quite long; before it succeeds, the mainland must first ensure that the colony will not be lost, and it must provide itself with more reinforcements to resist the empire's counterattack.

Anyway, neither Anson nor the Storm Division officer corps are planning to stay permanently in this ice and snow; the average term of a garrison corps is only five to eight years, and it will be shorter if there is military merit.

According to the current situation in the Old Continent, as long as the stability of the colony can be ensured, Anson estimates that the Storm Division will be transferred back to the mainland within three years at the earliest - an army that has been stationed abroad for a long time and cannot control it is extremely easy to become a warlord. This is based on the military The founding Osterian royal family and the Privy Council couldn't be more clear.

By then, the trading system of Beluga Port is completely completed. The Rune family only needs to control the bank to hide behind the scenes and control the Ice Dragon Fjord, the Free Confederacy and even all the New World colonies. The Cecil family is responsible for maintaining shipping, and the Franz family is responsible for maintaining shipping. Terminal sales and attracting investment...even if he is not in the new world, the profit chain he has built with his own hands will not be broken easily; even if he can only get a part of the dividends and commissions, it will be enough for himself and the entire Storm Division officer corps to benefit from for a lifetime.

Of course, this is a long-term plan, and the most important thing right now is to win over the Roland family; with 800,000 gold coins in hand, the plan will be half successful.

After adjusting his collar, Anson walked towards the bedroom in a happy mood, a new round of rehearsals for tomorrow had already begun in his mind.

……………………

Beluga Harbor Council, side hall.

Because yesterday's grand banquet - held twice in total - and many people, whether it was the representatives of the Roland family or the Beluga Harbor Councilor, were very drunk, there were not even two hundred people who could participate in the discussion. of living people.

So under Cedric Roland's strong insistence, the negotiation location was chosen in the second conference room, which is also where the various committees of Beluga Port usually mediate.

Due to the unexpected disappearance (death) of mediator Chloë Musk, the murder of Speaker Mace Wetzler, and the increasing popularity of former Speaker Harold, this place has become the home of the Harold Foundation, carrying out various activities. A variety of projects and activities to promote "colonial autonomy" and "the glorious history of Beluga Harbor".

In other words, it was a place “that would make Anson Bach and his lackeys feel uncomfortable.”

Under the towering and gorgeous vault, Cedric, who was sitting on Reinhard's lower left hand, had two dark circles in his eyes, gloomily observing the Commander-in-Chief's obviously unnatural face, with the corners of his mouth raised proudly.

Of course, he did not forget his "comrades"... Looking along the opposite side of the negotiators, he found three familiar figures in the far right corner of the opposite side and gave them a sincere smile.

Feeling his overtures, Ian Clemens and the other two former Faithless Knights had mixed feelings in their hearts, and they could only nod slightly in response to the "friendship" that they vowed to fight side by side with each other.

"Now that everyone is here, let's get started."

The cold-faced Reinhard coughed lightly, and the representatives of the Roland family next to him took out several piles of documents: "Although the Roland family has agreed to invest in this bank, some details may need to be carefully considered. ."

"No problem, that's as it should be." Ah Anshen nodded slightly, with a formulaic expression:

“Not only you, but also Ice Dragon Fjord attaches great importance to this investment and hopes to get a result that everyone can be satisfied with.”

Both of them were arrogant and business-like, with no intention of negotiating privately, which made Cedric sneer again and stare at them with a show-stopping expression.

The two sides took up positions, and under the crystal lamp as bright as day, began a war with the long table as the boundary, and the voice and saliva as the weapons; countless shadows flickered on their respective walls, reflecting the scene of mutual fighting.

Less than five minutes into the negotiation, both parties decisively abandoned the last bit of chivalry, trying to pierce the eardrums in front of them with their screams, and shatter their opponents' heavenly caps with their voices; blushing around a position, a gold coin would be compared with every penny; The tough attitude is comparable to battlefield negotiations - and everyone feels that they are the winner.

At the beginning, Anson and Reinhard would interrupt each other's quarrels, and everyone would make a little concession to each other, but before they could persuade their own people, they were sternly rejected by the other party.

After many useless mediations, the two completely gave up and joined in the verbal fight. They pointed at each other's noses and yelled curses. They also tried to intimidate each other with "force" many times, but were forcibly stopped by their own people.

The negotiation, which was full of quarrels and made no progress at all, lasted for two hours. Reinhard, who was exhausted, took the lead and proposed an intermission. Anson, whose voice was completely hoarse, nodded feebly in agreement.

Both parties took their respective representatives out of the side hall at the same time and headed to the lounge on the opposite side; and just as he was about to enter the room, Cedric sneaked back quietly under the pretext that he had forgotten something.

And when he walked into the room, he immediately saw a familiar figure standing in the corner, the president of the Harold Foundation - Ian Clemens!

Cedric, who was immediately delighted, stepped forward quickly. Just as he was about to say something, Ian raised his hand to stop him, grabbed his shoulders and dragged him to the next room.

At the same time, the fatigue on Anson's face, who had just returned to the lounge, was instantly wiped away. He left through another door with the negotiators turning a blind eye, and happened to meet Reinhard who came out at the same time.

The two looked at each other and walked into the same room one after another in tacit understanding.

"Just today."

Facing the surprised and delighted Cedric, Ian said in a deep voice while trying his best to lower his voice.

"Just today?!"

"Now!" Ian nodded heavily:

"The quarrel is just a cover. In fact, Anson Bach and Reinhard Roland have already privately negotiated the conditions for shareholding and investment; the so-called negotiation is just a cover to defraud the Roland family!"

"Oh, then what is my purpose?"

In the room separated by a wall, Reinhard looked at the commander-in-chief and raised the corners of his mouth playfully.

"Let the Roland family realize the difficulty of negotiations and make the subsequent failure seem logical." Anson said solemnly:

"Of course, we can also put more pressure on Clovis, lest they think that the Roland family's 800,000 yuan is already a guarantee of victory; but this is not enough, and the difficulty needs to continue to be raised."

"So, it's up to me to come forward, right?!" Cedric said excitedly.

"Exactly!"

Ian showed a pleased expression: "Only if you expose Anson Bach's insidious face in public when the negotiation is about to succeed in the end, can everything be saved and their vicious plan destroyed!"

"At this time, the local governor's delegation will come forward." Anson continued:

"Cedric Roland, who has won a great victory, must be so arrogant that he will never accept any concessions from Clovis, let alone give up his position as bank president; and Baron Aix is ​​here with the king's mandate. , he can’t afford the consequences of the bank not being able to complete it!”

"So! Under your pressure, the commander-in-chief will definitely choose to compromise and give in, and even hand over the leadership of the bank."

Ian's face showed relief, as if seeing the savior's expression: "Only by letting the bank be under the leadership of the Roland family can we ensure that it will not be interfered by the royal power; you... are our hero!"

"I have no doubt about this...Cedric Roland, he is a fool who would be fooled like this." Reinhard nodded slightly, but his frown did not immediately go away:

"But Clovis natives...are they really going to accept that the bank is not under their control?"

"It depends on whether they want to control the colony or get a big piece of cake." Anson raised the corner of his mouth:

"Everything will be revealed within today."

"Just today!"

Cedric clenched his fists fiercely, his pupils shining brightly.